Artwork
四代目中村歌右衛門 「関取千両幟」|The Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as the Wrestler Iwakawa Jirokichi
四代目中村歌右衛門 「関取千両幟」|The Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as the Wrestler Iwakawa Jirokichi is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英. It dates from 1837 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This woodblock print, created in 1837 by Shunbaisai Hokuei, depicts Nakamura Utaemon IV in a dramatic role.
About this work
Overview
This woodblock print, created in 1837 by Shunbaisai Hokuei, depicts Nakamura Utaemon IV in a dramatic role. The vertical ōban print is executed in ink and color on paper.
Subject & Meaning
The print shows Nakamura Utaemon IV as Iwakawa Jirokichi, a wrestler, in a dynamic pose, wearing a colorful costume with a red sash and blue sleeves. The surrounding Japanese text provides context for the scene, likely from a theatrical performance.
Technique & Style
The artist employed cross-hatching and bold lines to create the image. The plain background allows the vibrant patterns of the actor's robes to dominate the composition. The actor's face is rendered in white with accentuated black lines, a characteristic of traditional Japanese theater.
Artist & collection
Artist
Hokuei spent his life in Osaka, a busy port city where art and theater mixed like ink in water.
Untitled
春梅斎北英画 二代目嵐璃寛 『当世化粧鏡』|Kabuki Actor Arashi Rikan II as Akogi Heiji, from the print series Tōsei keshōkagami (Makeup Mirrors of Our Time)
春江斎北英画 二代目嵐璃寛 見立 「百物語」|Kabuki Actor Arashi Rikan II as Iemon Confronted by an Image of His Murdered Wife, Oiwa, on a Broken Lantern, Referring to Katsushika Hokusai’s Hyaku monogatari (One Hundred Ghost Stories)
戯場水滸伝百|Three Heroes of the Water Margin Capture the Bandit Queen Ichijōsei, from the series One Hundred Eight Heroes of the Theater Suikoden
春好斎北洲画 三代目中村歌右衛門 『一世一代当狂言』|Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon III as the Sword Master Kyōgoku Takumi, from the series Issei ichidai atari Kyōgen (Hits of a Lifetime of Kyōgen)
「荒藤太 中村芝翫」(四代)|Nakamura Shikan IV as the Fishmonger Aratota
「団七九郎兵衛」|Nakamura Utaemon IV as Danshichi Kurobei
「大判事清澄 坂東三津五郎」（三代）・「久我之助 嵐小六」（四代）|Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as Koganosuke
鳥居清満画 九代目市村羽左衛門|Kabuki Actor Ichimura Uzaemon IX
歌川国升画 五代目市川海老蔵 「熊谷次郎直実」|Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Ebizō V as Kumagai Jirō Naozane
壽陽堂歳国画 『中村芝翫 楽屋之図』|Kabuki Actor Nakamura Shikan Backstage (Nakamura Shikan rakuya no zu)